Iran likely paid for Toronto gun-for-hire spree targeting synagogues and U.S. Consulate

Since the United States and Israel began bombing Iran on Feb. 28, 2026, and killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a series of violent incidents has unfolded in Toronto. Investigators now believe the Iranian government financed these attacks.

A review of court files and police evidence indicates that Iranian money likely paid for a dozen politically motivated gun-for-hire shootings in the Greater Toronto Area. The targets included synagogues, a school, businesses, and the U.S. Consulate in downtown Toronto. No one was injured in these incidents.

The attacks share specific characteristics typical of hired-gun violence. Suspects typically arrived in stolen cars in the early morning hours. They emptied handguns into building entranceways while filming the acts on mobile phones. Toronto Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service are investigating whether a foreign power instigated the series of attacks.

Chief Superintendent Joe Matthews, who oversees the Toronto Police Service investigation, stated that police are investigating every angle regarding potential foreign involvement. He noted that it is harder to identify the financiers than the triggermen. "We don't think there's a very direct connection between the financier and the perpetrator on the street," Matthews said.

Court documents show that most of the accused suspects are young, ranging in age from 15 to their early 20s. Many face charges for multiple attacks. Ballistic tests confirmed that the same firearms were used in attacks on both political targets and businesses associated with waste management firm Green For Life. This link suggests that the same groups of hired guns carried out both types of assaults.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Mohammad Baqer al-Saadi in May 2026. He is alleged to be a senior member of Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, a militia controlled by Iran's Revolutionary Guard. An indictment filed in New York State alleges he helped plan at least 18 attacks in Europe and two in Canada. The Canadian attacks included the March 2026 shooting at the U.S. Consulate and an assault on an unnamed synagogue.

In June 2026, Canada issued a joint statement with 20 other nations condemning Iran's plotting in Europe, North America, and Australia. The statement described the relationship between Iranian security services and criminal groups as long-standing. It called the use of these groups deplorable.

Security analyst Keir Giles of the Chatham House institute in London noted that the gun-for-hire model, or Violence as a Service, has been made easier by encrypted communication apps. "It's become vastly easier to spread your network, to actually reach and recruit them at really, very little cost," Giles said.

Iran's Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment regarding its alleged involvement in the Toronto attacks. The government has previously dismissed claims that it sponsors violence globally. At the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto synagogue, which was attacked in March 2026, Rabbi Daniel Korobkin said the congregation is not intimidated. "The end result is the same and we just want it to stop," he said.